Pokémon: Wild Card is First New Movie in Seven Years
The Pokémon franchise is returning to theaters with its first theatrical movie in seven years. Pokémon: Wild Card was officially announced on August 31 during the Pokémon XP convention, with a planned release in 2027 and beyond.
This marks a significant return for Pokémon cinema, which saw annual releases from 1998 through 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic halted theatrical film production. The last Pokémon movie, “Secrets of the Jungle,” premiered in 2020. Wild Card will be the 25th film in the franchise’s movie history.
The new film represents a unique concept for the series by exploring what the Pokémon Trading Card Game would look like if Pokémon actually existed in the real world. The story follows a young Pokémon TCG player alongside the character Mimikyu, with the narrative incorporating actual trading card gameplay mechanics.
The production team brings significant creative credentials to the project. The film is being animated by CloverWorks, the studio behind the acclaimed series Spy x Family and The Elusive Samurai. Director Katsuhiko Kitada, known for Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, will helm the project, while character design duties are handled by Akemi Hayashi, who previously worked on the anime series Banana Fish.
The announcement trailer, released in a brief 39-second teaser, provided glimpses of the TCG-focused premise, showing a game setup and the featured Mimikyu character. With the 2027 release date looming, more details about the plot and production are expected in the coming months.